Bissell?

12 Mar 2013

The 1853 map of Hamilton, Madison, New York shows someone named HOLMES owning land southeast of Poolville, on the south of Lot 76, near though not right at where Hiram and Jerome HOLMES appear to have been living around then, and near “Mrs. CHAPEL” who I believe was the widow of Grace HOLMES’s brother Peter CHAPEL. By 1875 this property was owned by E. BRAINARD. Looking through the land records for Madison County I find a deed (book CG page 442) for the purchase of what appears to be this land by Elijah BRAINARD from Bissell R HOLMES and Catherine BOOTH.

Who was Bissell R HOLMES? I’ve never heard of him. A quick attempt to find anything about him online has turned up next to nothing, except that he appears to have gone to Janesville, Wisconsin by early 1860. A man of mystery. He and BOOTH bought the land in 1848 (book BL page 335) at which time he’s described as “of Sherburne Chenango County”. Later on he buys some land that had previously belonged to Elijah HOLMES, and another piece of land from Lovina HOLMES, both of whom seem to be connected with the Hubbardsville HOLMES family, so perhaps he was too. In which case he’s not connected to my HOLMES line.

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Wait, I think I do know who Bissell was. One of the sons of Elijah’s brother Solomon HOLMES is in my database as Rodman B. HOLMES, but with a note that he signed his name B. R. HOLMES. He was executor of Elijah’s will. And in that case, certainly not closely related to my line, despite the proximity to Hiram, Jerome, and Mrs. CHAPEL.

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I'm Rich Holmes. I do physics, knit, morris dance, play melodeon and clarinet and ukulele, but not simultaneously, have a son, like science and math and Macintoshes and Linux and Android, build and fly model rockets, dabble in electronic music, make bad jokes, and generally consume oxygen.